Home Archive by category "Association for Sustainability in Business" (Page 9)

Category Archives: Association for Sustainability in Business

Does the Chinese emissions ‘error’ matter?

By John ED Barker, Murdoch University Recent analyses that China’s carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions might be 1.2 gigatonnes or 20% higher than previously estimated have generated something of a feeding frenzy in the media; and not just the daily tabloids. Even The Scientific American has jumped on the bandwagon, adding a few more factoids to increase the alarm. It is understandable that we could be alarmed by a figure of 1.2 gigatonnes; that’s a mighty big figure. It’s equivalent to the total of Japan’s annual emissions, the SMH repeated, without providing the more useful fact for its readers that it …

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What’s the British music scene got to do with selecting the right environmental software?

I’ve just finished watching another brilliant episode of the series “Legendary Music Cities of the World” – this time spotlighting the extraordinary music successes of London. Beatles, Stones, The Who, the rock of Led Zeppelin evolving into the Punk phenomenon, Glamrock of Bowie & Queen, the Brit Pop gems of Blue, Happy Mondays and Oasis sandwiched between the Hit Factories of Stock, Aitken & Waterman and the Spice Girls, which in turn inspired the blossoming of modern feminine songstresses of Adele, Lily Allen and Florence & the Machine. The truly exceptional artists were able to evolve their music as the …

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Cities need strong, transparent leadership

Iman Mahditama, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Experts gathering at the third biennial World Cities Summit in Singapore have urged city administrations all over the world to develop strong, transparent leadership as cities are deemed critical in the establishment of a sustainable future. “Many of the world’s cities are actually bigger than countries so city sustainability is critical. It should be the main drive in the attempt to create a sustainable world,” United Nations Development Program (UNDP) administrator Helen Clark said. The former New Zealand prime minister then went on to say, “In light of this, city leadership is critical, as …

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GlobalData Forecasts Increasingly Volatile Carbon Market

The price of carbon credits traded in regional and national emissions markets worldwide will become increasingly volatile and difficult to accurately forecast through 2015, according to a report by GlobalData. GlobalData said the prolonged European sovereign debt crisis, a glut of carbon credits and uncertainties under the Kyoto Protocol are expected to keep prices low through 2012. The recession in the European Union, which operates the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, will cause emissions to grow less than expected through this year. Economic conditions in the eurozone and outcomes of the Kyoto Protocol will determine the global carbon prices between 2013 …

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Spreadsheets don’t cut it for tracking and reporting environmental data

What is it telling us when Microsoft, creator of the Excel spreadsheet, invests in a software solution to manage its environmental reporting requirements? According to Microsoft’s Chief Environmental Strategist, the solution “will enable us to efficiently collect, analyse and share environmental data, delivering new levels of understanding about the resources we use”. This is not a vote of no-confidence in the spreadsheet, but rather a good business decision to invest in fit for purpose solutions. Environmental management has, for most businesses, been a sideline issue that has attracted only passing interest from management. As a consequence, investment in tools to …

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$11.5 million boost for Victoria’s recycling and resource recovery infrastructure

The Minister for Environment and Climate Change Ryan Smith is continuing to drive improvement in Victoria’s recycling efforts announcing an $11.5 million funding package to improve recycling infrastructure across the state. It follows $13.8 million of infrastructure funding already announced this year as part of the Victorian Coalition Government’s Conserve Invest and Save strategy. This latest funding package includes: • $5 million for Round 2 of the Driving Investment in New Recycling (DINR) fund through grants and; • $6.5 million for Resource Recovery Infrastructure (RRI) at landfills, which will target large scale projects. “We are continuing our reinvestment of the …

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ACSI ready to name and shame Half of listed companies provide no ESG disclosure

By Tony Featherstone: The Investor Daily More than half of Australia’s largest listed companies do not provide meaningful sustainability disclosure around environmental, social and governance risks. The sustainability reporting debate has gone up several notches, with the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI) warning it might publicly name listed companies that ignore calls from the investment community for better disclosure in this area. ACSI, which represents about 40 industry funds with a total of more than $300 billion in funds under management, this month released its fifth annual analysis of sustainability reporting practices and disclosure of companies in the S&P/ASX …

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Sustainability Business to hold 2013 event in conjunction with the Australian Making Cities Liveable Conference

The ‘Taking Care of Business: Sustainable Transformation’ Conference in 2013 will be held in Melbourne,  in Conjunction with the Australian Making Cities Liveable Conference. Our event will bring together ‘green economy’ leaders and sustainabilty practitioners from Australia and New Zealand along with the opportunity to network with others who are building profitable and sustainable business models, services and products. The conference will update delegates on a range of effective sustainable business practises including energy saving and carbon pricing. We will examine Governments’ sustainability plans  while finding business opportunities and trends in the sector. The Conference will include presentations on: Green …

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The 2012 Sustainability Business Association – Conference Special Interest Group (SIG)

This year’s conference will see the formation of a Special Interest Group (SIG) to identify issues of importance to members and delegates for further examination and debate in 2012/13. All delegates can register for this open discussion on the conference website. “Taking Care of Business: Sustainable   Transformation” 21 – 22 May 2012, Radisson Resort,  Gold Coast, Australia The conference will update delegates on a range of issues including; Climbing the mountain: issues for business and society in the “Necessary Transition” Redefining CSR Post-GFC It’s all about me! Personalising Corporate Sustainability The Sustainable Australian CEO: transformation of Australia’s business leadership in …

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